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Pottstown, PA – ArtFusion 19464 is proud to announce that Laura Cousins-Washington has joined their staff as Development Coordinator of the Beech Street Factory Community Programs. As Development Coordinator, Washington is responsible for identifying and engaging the nonprofit organization’s local business and community partners, members and their families, and other funders and constituents to build and maintain a broad and growing base of annual support, grant funding, and endowment funding.

Executive Director and Co-Founder Erika-Hornburg Cooper said: “We are so happy to welcome Laura officially as staff. We know she will have a big impact on our future, helping ArtFusion 19464 to grow and transition our educational programming to a new facility in the Beech St. Factory.”

Previously Laura Cousins-Washington worked as Garden Manager of MOSAIC Community Land Trust Community Gardens, located in the Borough of Pottstown, for the past four years. Her goal at MOSAIC was to engage families, volunteers and supporters in order to spread the word about gardening, fitness, healthy eating and healthy lifestyles choices. Washington has overseen the development of two community gardens located on Chestnut Street and one permaculture garden located on Walnut Street. She is also a personal fitness trainer at Pottstown Athletic Club and Body Go Fitness and works as the coordinator for Schuylkill River Athletics. Washington has a good understanding the needs of the community as it relates to empowering individuals. Washington coaches children and adults of all ages throughout the year in personal fitness, gardening/nutrition and in making healthier, long-term behavior changes.

ArtFusion 19464 is a 501(c)3 non-profit community art center located at 254 E. High St. in downtown Pottstown. The school offers day, evening and weekend classes to all ages. The goal of these classes is to help students develop their creative skills through self-expression and independence. ArtFusion 19464’s gallery hosts rotating shows featuring local artists. The gallery also sells handcrafted, one-of-a-kind gift items. The gallery is open Wednesday through Friday from 10am-5pm and Saturday 10am-3pm. Classes do run outside of gallery hours.

Pottstown, PA — Steel River Playhouse, at 245 E. High Street in Pottstown, PA is now accepting enrollment for the Spring term and summer program, which includes private study in guitar, piano, voice, trumpet and acting, along with group classes in acting, performance, improvisation and much more.

Steel River’s spring term began on Monday, March 28. Classes are available in Acting, Improvisation, Broadway Cabaret, and the popular Flights of Fancy and Imagination Theater programs for young actors to create and perform original works and perform for an audience. A home school drama club original production workshop is also accepting enrollment.

Students may also enroll NOW for workshop productions beginning in mid-March including productions of THE TEMPEST (classical workshop for dramatic actors), A CHARM SCHOOL WITCH (musical workshop for young performers), BANG BANG, YOU’RE DEAD (a contemporary drama workshop) and Broadway Cabaret workshop (Summer Lovin’ Cabaret). For more information on these productions, email the education department at education@steelriver.org.

Summer camp enrollment has also begun, and students may register for three different two week camps.

Camp one offers a Variety Show theme, and runs from July 11 to July 22.

Camp two runs from July 25 to August 8, and offers students the opportunity to work an original musical theme of global awareness, which explores a variety of cultures from around the world.

Camp three offers students to create original one act plays, from August 8 to 19.

Camps run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily (with option for half day camp for younger students).Each camp culminates in an original work that is performed for parents, and includes workshops in specialty skills that will be used in that performance, such as juggling, Broadway dance styles and more, while also incorporating lessons in confidence, cultural awareness and collaboration.

Steel River Playhouse employs educators who are regionally and nationally renowned in their fields with many holding advanced degrees. The facility is also renowned as one of the highest rated theatrical venues in PA, featuring state of the art performance spaces, studios, classroom space, sound reinforcement equipment and seating, full set, costume and prop shops as well as the best green room of any theater in the area. Steel River’s goal is to provide the highest possible educational experience for students and participants in the tri-county area, focused on every level of training from beginner to expert!

About Steel River Playhouse – Steel River Playhouse is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charitable education and performance facility that seeks to strengthen community, inspire creative exploration, educate, and entertain, through the presentation of quality performing arts events and education for diverse audiences. Designated as a “gateway” performing arts center, Steel River provides affordable, high quality performances, comprehensive educational offerings, and enriching volunteer opportunities in all aspects of theatre arts. Students and volunteers of all ages and backgrounds are encouraged to explore and grow their skills by working side-by-side with professional instructors, performers, directors, and designers.

Calling all artists, community groups and arts organizations of the Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties!Applications are now being accepted for the Pennsylvania Partners of the Arts (PPA) Project Stream Grant. The deadline for all applications is June 20, 2016.

To encourage participation in the application process, The Lehigh Valley Arts Council has offered FREE grant writing workshops throughout the month of May – 5/12, 5/14 and 5/24 — only one workshop opportunity remains!

New and returning applicants have found these sessions critical to their success in meeting the demands of a compelling, competitive proposal. Applicants will have the opportunity to review PCA’s eligibility rules; detailed criteria, narrative and budget requirements; and digital work samples that make a successful application.

The PPA Project Stream Grant awards up to $2,500 to eligible individuals, community groups, and non-profit organizations to conduct arts projects which have a significant public component. The grant application and award process is locally administered by the Lehigh Valley Arts Council staff, who then convene advisory panels from the local cultural community to review the applications according to PCA guidelines.

Registration for the final Project Stream grant writing workshops is recommended but not required. To register, please email the Lehigh Valley Arts Council’s new PPA Coordinator Zach Kleemeyer at PPA@LVArtsCouncil.org.

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The Lehigh Valley Arts Council’s mission is to promote the arts; to encourage and support artists and their development; to assist arts organizations; and to facilitate communication and cooperation among artists, arts organizations, and the community. www.LVArtsCouncil.org

We are the Colebrookdale Railroad Preservation Trust, a non-profit organization dedicated to revitalizing The Secret Valley Line and restoring its services to offer the greatest turn-of-the-century railroading experience in the nation.
Volunteers are the lifeblood of the Colebrookdale Railroad. Quite literally, the train doesn’t roll down the tracks without them.

Our volunteers are:
 the source of all accomplishments of our programs
 the most critical and unique resource we have
 the leaders in our organization
 committed long-term with frequent participation
 committed to a safe, productive, and cohesive workplace
 responsible for our future

Our dedicated family of volunteers does everything from track work, to passenger car restoration, to operations.

If you have what it takes to work on the railroad, contact us today at info@colebrookdalerailroad.com! Be sure to include the words, “I Want to Volunteer” in the subject line.
 Mission
o To serve as a catalyst for economic development in Southeastern Pennsylvania through the preservation and interpretation of the historic, cultural, and natural heritage of the middle Schuylkill Region, birthplace of the American iron industry.
 Vision Statement
o To establish national-caliber heritage and recreational anchor attraction around an authentic Edwardian-era experience of the sort offered on the grand limited trains of the 1900-1920 era by developing the Colebrookdale Railroad, its infrastructure, equipment, and real estate, and by building local and regional partnerships.

WHY: Event to support the staff, board members, community leaders and volunteers of nonprofit organizations, public agencies and associations. Our goal is to increase collaboration, outreach efforts, partnerships, capacity building and volunteerism to have a greater impact within our organizations to enhance our communities.

Keynote Luncheon

IRA KORETSKY, “The Chief Storyteller”

VENDOR SHOWCASE:

*FREE*

We are looking for vendors providing services and products for nonprofits, agencies and associations. Complete the vendor form to:

– Register and list your product or services

– Indicate if you are able to provide a product or service offering of at least $50 in value as a raffle gift for attendees. All vendors will receive acknowledgement in the conference directory, online advertising with conference promotions and eligibility for a one year membership to TCN .

WORKSHOPS:

9:45 am – 10:30 am

Workshop A– EITC and DCED: Learn about the Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program and the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) resources developed to foster opportunities for businesses growth and community sustainability.

To those who have completed all of the necessary documents and paid the membership fees, WE THANK YOU! Garden bed location and plot assignments will be sent out no later than Thursday, May 12, 2016. This will allow for our “later-bloomers” to sign up and be added to the plot assignment list. Please be patient as we want as many families as possible to be a part of the gardens and the beginning process of growing great garden goodies…mmmm, we can almost taste the tomatoes!

Additional Community Garden Details and Opening Dates

A “blueprint” of the garden will be sent to every gardener providing a layout of the land and the location of everyone’s specific garden plot(s). Each plot will be numbered and last name written on the assigned plot accordingly. A gardener’s guide will be included in the email for your review in order to learn more about the gardens prior to opening day.

Speaking of opening day…

Our first planting days are Saturday, May 14 and Sunday, May 15, from 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM. Yippee!

Each day, we will provide a brief tour at each garden location, learn how to open and close the gardens each visit, discuss the importance of your log entries each time you visit the garden and harvest vegetables, resolve any incomplete membership packets and answer any questions you may have about gardening. At that point, it will be TIME TO PLANT!

Plants and seeds will be provided to each gardener and support will be offered in order for you and your neighbors to have your best growing season yet!

Mosaic’s Annual Home Garden Contest is underway! Contest details, categories and a list of awesome prizes can be viewed athttp://www.homegardencontest.com/. This year, you can enter the contest online! Kudos, to The Pottstown Mercury Fit for Life, the Pottstown Health and Wellness Foundation, Colonial Garden, Pine Hill Tree Farms, Achin’ Bank, the Pottstown Garden Club and others for your support!

Another Note of Thanks!

Mosaic wants to also thank Genesis Housing, Pottstown School District, XL Insurance, our private supporters and other volunteers for your continued support of our community garden and land trust initiatives!

Donating Made Easy – Use AmazonSmile

Don’t forget,

AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop atsmile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to your favorite charitable organization. Preservation Pottstown (our 501c3 registered name, also known as Mosaic CLT) is now available as your charitable organization on Amazon Smile!The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases. The purchase price is the amount paid for the item minus any rebates and excluding shipping & handling, gift-wrapping fees, taxes, or service charges. Use smile.amazon.com and choose Preservation Pottstown as your designated non-profit organization you wish to donate to!

‘Nough Said…for now. Visit our Facebook page to take a look at all of our recent activity buzzin’ around our community gardens over the past few weeks! Share your love of the gardens by sharing our posts on Facebook with all of your friends and family!

HAPPY EARTH DAY! – now get out there and plant a tree, or a bean plant, or an herb, or a vegetable, or a…..you get the idea! 🙂

The STRIVE Initiative & The JT Dorsey Foundation present “Go For The Goal” an inspirational song and video created by mentors and students to highlight the importance of setting goals and achieving them! Along the process we documented not only the video but also the journey and how the students along with the mentors collaborated to create a masterpiece of expression! Please Share & Donate @http://fundly.com/go-for-the-goalto help us continue youth development! ‪#‎goforthegoalpa‬

Happy SNOW DAYS!

But believe it or not, we are already planning for our best GARDEN season yet!

Pretty soon, we will trade in our snow gloves for gardening gloves, so GET READY!

Community Garden Member Applications are NOW being Accepted!

We are now accepting applications for the 2016 growing season! Everyone is welcome to join us this season at the Mosaic Community Gardens – a safe place for the entire family to grow, learn, share and play!

For your annual one-time contribution, Mosaic will supply all of the tools, seeds, plants, dirt and water you need to grow yourself a fantastic garden! The first planting weekend is set for Saturday, May 14 – 15. We will prepare to plant, dig-in and enjoy ourselves the entire weekend! All are welcome to put down some roots with MOSAIC!

MOSAIC Makes a Statement-So Can You!

MOSAIC Community Gardens have an all-new logo! Help us spread the word, plant the seed and change our neighborhood by purchasing a T-shirt for $16 (front and back printed in sizes for the whole family), tote bag, magnet or button displaying the MOSAIC logo. Contact Mary-Beth Bacallao at flyeredup8831@gmail.com or Laura Washington at wash5000@msn.com to get your goods today!

We also have the following items for sale:

Do You Want to Build A… Garden?

MOSAIC will present “How to Design, Plan and Start a Home Garden” at Pottstown Library in late February. Please check back for date and time and details and join Tracy Purdy, our star intern, to think Spring and plan your home garden!

Thank You!

Pine Hill Farms and the Heylmun Family supported MOSAIC Community Land Trust through our annual Christmas Tree Sale and Home Garden Contest! Thank you to the Heylmuns and everyone who purchased a tree and donated to MOSAIC. We appreciate the support of the Heylmun family year after year.

Painting with a Purpose

Jackson Pollock your hero? Renoir make your heart race? Join MOSAIC and ArtFusion on Saturday, February 13! From 7-9 PM, you can let your inner Picasso shine for a good cause! BYOB and snacks, and maybe a smock or two in case you’re inspired to do some abstract art on yourself! $20 per ticket or $35 per two ticket purchase. Proceeds to benefit Mosaic/ArtFusion summer programming.

TEENAGERS WELCOME!

Beginning February 18, from 6 to 8 PM, MOSAIC will partner with ArtFusion, STRIVE, Olivet Boys and Girls Club to present My Voice, a 12-week program for teens. Healthy meal preps, art journaling, music and theatre workshops will be provided. Through fun, interactive experiences, My Voice will increase the involvement of young people in their community by asking them to visually articulate their ideal community, resulting in a visual art canvas, short film and relevant artistic renditions that define and embody the voice of young peoples’ dreams for Pottstown. This program is graciously sponsored in part by Olivet Boys and Girls Club.

On the 18th, an information session will be held prior to the workshop for parents and youth alike. A warm meal will be prepared and served by the entire group!

Please contact ArtFusion at (610) 326-2506 to register.

Together we are stronger—one community, many voices!

Amazon Smile – An Easy Way to Give and Get!

AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to your favorite charitable organization. MOSAIC CLT is now available as your charitable organization on Amazon Smile!The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases. The purchase price is the amount paid for the item minus any rebates and excluding shipping & handling, gift-wrapping fees, taxes, or service charges. For more information, please go to

What do you do when you have worked your way out homelessness and turned your life around? You help others achieve the same goal, of course. And if you are Julia Zion, you start Nom Prophets.

Nom Prophets was formed in November of this year and is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Nom Prophets has a 6-person Board of Directors who work with Julia towards this goal.

Julia wants to give back for all the help she received along the way. Being homeless and lacking job skills is a vicious cycle. Unless someone takes a chance on hiring you, many doors are closed. Without a job, you cannot afford basic necessities like food and shelter. Without a permanent residence, it is hard to get a job.

As Julia pointed out in our interview, there are jobs in the food industry and with some training and experience those jobs can be had.

This new venture is an extension of what Julia has been doing for the last several years serving meals to the poor/homeless and helping in shelters. Julia’s ultimate goal is to expand on those kinds of services through the use of food in the general area of food and food services. Pottstown residents may remember the meals at Washington Street Park, for example.

The short-range goal is to buy a food truck through fundraising. It would either be new or a retrofitted truck, depending on the results of the fundraising. Zion hopes they can get a food truck operational by the summer.

By going out and using the food truck she hopes to fund the nonprofit. The food truck will also enable Nom Prophets serve the poor in parks, churches and or shelters. Food trucks are certified and inspected kitchens which guarantee food safety and permit issues (in many cases).

There are several ways Nom Prophets is trying to raise money. They are selling homemade salsa, which you can buy at iCreate Café, 130 King Street, Pottstown and Daniel’s Produce and Dairy at 219 High Street, Pottstown. They also hope to have gift baskets available in the near future.

Nom Prophets is scouting other locations, in the Berks County area, to sell their salsa and gift baskets. If your business or organization would like to stock these items, you can contact Nom Prophets. They would be glad to work with you!

Having experienced homelessness herself, Julia feels people need compassion, stability and a self-esteem boost. Being poor, disadvantaged and/or homeless is demoralizing. The shelter system is temporary and there is no sense of stability. This causes anxiety and low self-esteem.

Julia found a new sense of self-worth and happiness once she was gainfully employed and had her own place to live. She wants to help others find their way out of homelessness and poverty so they can lead full, productive and happy lives. After all, we are talking about human beings. Human beings deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

The common misconception is that people in these circumstances do not want to work and are lazy. The problem is without job skills, and in many cases experience, you are unemployable. You cannot be self-supporting on minimum wage. Without skills you cannot get a better paying job.

Another employment barrier is the cost of obtaining a Safe Serve certification. Having this certification helps you land a job and command more money in the food industry. However, it can cost several hundred dollars.

For many, this may not seem like much money. But if you have no money, it might as well be a million dollars. Nom Prophets wants to help people get this certification along with teaching them knife skills and giving them experience in a professional kitchen so they can apply for a get a job in the food industry that pays a living wage.

The long-range goal would be to eventually have a brick and mortar location with a professional kitchen, restaurant and housing for those in the program while they train.

You can contact Nom Prophets on Facebook if you would like to buy their products, sell their products, donate or see if there is any way you can help out by clicking https://www.facebook.com/NomProphets/

If you are looking for something unique, check out Nom Prophets: Helping people through food. Nom Prophets is a 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to helping people in need through food. They provide meals, job training and self confidence.

This company is based in Kutztown, Berks County and sells food products you can use for gifts. With Christmas just 13 days away, we thought you might enjoy something inexpensive and unique for those special people in your life.

Nom Prophets: Helping people through food will be selling their Red Hot Cayenne Pepper sauce at iCreate Cafe, in Pottstown (130 King Street) AND Daniel’s Produce in Pottstown (219 E. High Street). It’s $7 per 16 ounce jar and all the proceeds go towards the non profit. Owner Ashraf Khalil has generously donated shelf space. They will be stocking a second flavor, Tangy Tomatillo, after next Friday.

I don’t know about you, but I have people in my life who LOVE, LOVE, LOVE hot sauce! We are buying some! Buy local and help others. What could be better!!

In the spirit of the holiday season, Pottstown Area Rapid Transit (PART) is pleased to announce our “Take PART, Give Back” Campaign!

Beginning November 29, 2015 PART will be collecting donations to benefit the Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities and Operation Backpack. PART is pleased to partner with these organizations to help build the supply of food and goods available to those in need in our local community.

How can you PARTicipate?

By riding on one of PART’s Special Sunday Shopper Days! Every Sunday beginning November 29th, 2015 through December 20th 2015 from 12:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m., bring your donation on board a PART Transit Bus and ride for $1.00! *Applies to Adult Base Fare ONLY

During the Tri County Area Chamber of Commerce Holiday Mixer & Business to Business Expo on Tuesday, December 8, 2015 from 4:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. at Norco Fire Company, 144 W. Schuylkill Road, Pottstown, PA 19465. Bring your donation to the event and receive a PART Holiday ornament!

The Pottstown Cluster of Religious Communities is a 501 c3 nonprofit organization providing a multitude of programs related to food security, clothing and housing assistance, and other supportive services. Activities are intended to “address the basic human needs of persons within the Greater Pottstown community, while assisting with their spiritual and social needs.”

The Cluster is currently in need of dry goods including laundry detergent, all-purpose cleaners, paper towels, and toiletries. Canned goods including fruits, vegetables, soups, tuna fish, and tomato products are also in high demand.

Operation Backpack is a 501 c3 nonprofit organization, providing food to students in the greater Pottstown community who would go without over the weekend. The organization works to “help homeless and hungry students succeed by addressing the issue of childhood hunger.” The organization works with individuals and organizations to gather ready to eat items to fill backpacks distributed to participating schools at the end of each week. Operation Backpack is currently in need of prepackaged tuna, macaroni and cheese, soups, pasta, cereal, granola, breakfast bars, crackers, juice, and water.

As a public service, PART takes great pride in providing safe, affordable, and reliable quality transportation to the Borough of Pottstown, Lower, West, and Upper Pottsgrove Townships, Limerick Township, and North Coventry Township.

Please help PART Give Back! Questions? Contact Erica Batdorf at 610-970-6515 or ebatdorf@pottstown.org

Pottstown, PA – ArtFusion 19464’s latest show titled “5” is a showcase for five talented local artists: Kristen VonHohen, Bob Hakun, Dora Siemel, Jeanne Petrosky and Dennis Guzenski. Each artist creates unique three-dimensional art pieces in different mediums from clay and glass to handmade paper and rusted metal. The show opens November 4 and runs through November 15.

ArtFusion will host a reception on Friday November 7 from 6-8pm where guests can meet and talk with each of the artists. Light refreshments will be served, and the event is free and open to the public. RSVPs to 610-326-2506 are appreciated.

Kristen VonHohen is a local artist residing in Gilbertsville. Her passion in ceramics was formed in Boyertown High School’s art program in the early 2000s. She went on to attend University of the Arts in Philadelphia, earning a BFA in Ceramics. Kristen focuses on hand built structures and enjoys experimenting with forms and shape. In this show Kristen’s latest work incorporate fusible glass in the finished pieces, creatively combining two completely different elements to create new works of art.

Dora Siemel’s sculpture medium is clay. She has her own studio in Green Lane, Pennsylvania. All her pieces are hand built and fired to between cone 4 and cone 6. The colors come from any combination of glazes, oxides, paints and waxes. Since each piece is made individually, no two are exactly alike. She does, however, make “families” that have the same general characteristics. Some of her pieces incorporate “found” objects and others marry her love of fiber and crochet with her clay sculptures

Bob Hakun says of his work: “I collect old discarded common items: some natural, some man-made. I look for old pieces that show the graphic effects of aging: the beauty and harshness of the breaking-down over time of all things into what they came from. I look for pieces that are burnt, broken, rusty, crushed, bent, stained and cracked (and sometimes smell bad). Sometimes the final art piece will seem to tell a story or convey a message about something, but it will not be clear as to what that message really is. It is open to interpretation by the viewer.”

Jeanne Petrosky has always loved creating. She studied painting, drawing, sculpture, etching, graphic arts, and pottery. In 1987, Jeanne met a woman at a party who made paper. Having always loved paper and fiber, the first thing out of her mouth was “I’d like to try that.” The connection to making paper was immediate.

Dennis Guzenski has always loved drawing. Dennis’ fine art career evolved from the world of decorative arts. He came to painting by way of many different careers including painting the exteriors of Victorian homes. His growing interest in learning many new decorative painting and designer wall finishes eventually turned into a business.

Jeanne and Dennis met in 2002, beginning a journey of partnership, and collaborations in the studio. The fine art of Jeanne Petrosky and Dennis Guzenski is now a completely collaborative effort. Their bold approach to papermaking has won them numerous awards. They are published in multiple books, and their work can be seen at the country’s most acclaimed shows. At first glance, Jeanne and Dennis’s art is color. Upon a closer look the viewer starts appreciating the nuances, the subtlety and the expansiveness in the simplicity, seeing the interplay of color and texture within the form.

ArtFusion 19464 is a 501(c)3 non-profit community art center located at 254 E. High St. in downtown Pottstown. The school offers day, evening and weekend classes to all ages. The goal of these classes is to help students develop their creative skills through self-expression and independence. ArtFusion’s gallery hosts rotating shows featuring local artists. The gallery also sells handcrafted, one-of-a-kind gift items. The gallery is open Tuesday through Friday from 10am-5pm and Saturday 10am-3pm. The gallery is closed Sunday and Monday.

Editor’s note: Two Roy’s Rants thumbs up to Berks County and the City of Reading for tackling crime head on!

A Reading law firm has begun paperwork to form a new nonprofit group to focus on crime initiatives in much the same way that a private group did in the Altoona area.

The move comes after a January crime summit in which Gov. Tom Corbett urged local leaders to study a Blair County program called Operation Our Town, which was started by business leaders to help fund law enforcement and community efforts to stop young people from becoming criminals.

Daniel B. Huyett, a partner in the Reading law firm Stevens & Lee, said Wednesday that the group will be incorporated as an official 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

That decision was made at a meeting this week among Berks County business leaders with Michael A. Fiore, owner of an Altoona construction company who started Operation Our Town in Blair County after a series of shootings there.